For a majority of 39 minutes and 42 seconds Saturday night, Purdue was going to lose to Penn State because its best players weren't necessarily playing like them.
A.J. Hammons, who's been on a tear lately, couldn't get the ball or finish when he could. His late swoon at the foul line really put the Boilermakers in a bind.
Ronnie Johnson battled foul trouble and didn't score.
And Terone Johnson, while making better "basketball plays" lately, per his game, just didn't do a whole lot before scoring five of Purdue's last six points.
The final 18 seconds, however, were a clinic on how to win a basketball game, a flawless display of execution and good players making the sort of plays their teams typically need them to.
Terone Johnson made a driving layup that probably wasn't as easy as it looked with 18 seconds and change left, the right play for Purdue to make down three with a good amount of time left.
He then made what might have been the biggest shot of his highly productive career.
It was, however, not a "rhythm" three and he's supposed to only take "rhythm" threes. I kid, I kid.
Ronnie Johnson, the mostly non-factor that he was on this night, then took the ball from the guy who was the best player in the game to that point, Tim Frazier, and took away Penn State's chance to win and put it in his team's corner.
Then, guess what "Guest" on chat, an in-bounds play worked! And it won Purdue a game. I kid, I kid.
Purdue was fortunate to draw a foul there, and do so with time left on the clock after Hammons bobbled the catch, but credit Purdue for exploiting a matchup with a play that might work once in 10 tries the rest of the season in such a situation.
You have to feel for Penn State to lose a game like that, but Purdue won't right now.
Purdue just walked away from a plane crash, to put it one way.
You know this, that Purdue needs wins in both quantity and quality and any bad loss on its home floor could in essence take a Bic to that NCAA resume.
Purdue was good when it mattered most Saturday night, and that's the most important thing.
But it has to be better.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
A.J. Hammons, who's been on a tear lately, couldn't get the ball or finish when he could. His late swoon at the foul line really put the Boilermakers in a bind.
Ronnie Johnson battled foul trouble and didn't score.
And Terone Johnson, while making better "basketball plays" lately, per his game, just didn't do a whole lot before scoring five of Purdue's last six points.
The final 18 seconds, however, were a clinic on how to win a basketball game, a flawless display of execution and good players making the sort of plays their teams typically need them to.
Terone Johnson made a driving layup that probably wasn't as easy as it looked with 18 seconds and change left, the right play for Purdue to make down three with a good amount of time left.
He then made what might have been the biggest shot of his highly productive career.
It was, however, not a "rhythm" three and he's supposed to only take "rhythm" threes. I kid, I kid.
Ronnie Johnson, the mostly non-factor that he was on this night, then took the ball from the guy who was the best player in the game to that point, Tim Frazier, and took away Penn State's chance to win and put it in his team's corner.
Then, guess what "Guest" on chat, an in-bounds play worked! And it won Purdue a game. I kid, I kid.
Purdue was fortunate to draw a foul there, and do so with time left on the clock after Hammons bobbled the catch, but credit Purdue for exploiting a matchup with a play that might work once in 10 tries the rest of the season in such a situation.
You have to feel for Penn State to lose a game like that, but Purdue won't right now.
Purdue just walked away from a plane crash, to put it one way.
You know this, that Purdue needs wins in both quantity and quality and any bad loss on its home floor could in essence take a Bic to that NCAA resume.
Purdue was good when it mattered most Saturday night, and that's the most important thing.
But it has to be better.
Copyright, Boilers, Inc. 2014. All Rights Reserved. Reproducing or using editorial or graphical content, in whole or in part, without permission, is strictly prohibited. E-mail GoldandBlack.com/Boilers, Inc.
